Microsoft, Apple, others beat Google with $4.5B bid for giant Nortel patent trove

newNortel

A consortium that includes Microsoft, Apple and Sony bid a whopping $4.5 billion in cash to win more than 6,000 patents and patent applications formerly held by bankrupt telecom company Nortel Networks. They beat out Google, which had started the bidding with a $900 million offer. Nortel announced the results of the auction today. Others… Read More…

Google bids $900M for Nortel patents, but Microsoft already has them in the bag

newNortel

[Post updated at 1:45 p.m. with clarification of Microsoft's rights to these patents under a previous licensing deal with Nortel.] An executive with bankrupt Nortel Networks calls its intellectual property holdings “one of the most extensive and compelling patent portfolios to ever come on the market.” Of course, he’s inherently biased. But Google today suggested… Read More…